US records 1,497 virus deaths in 24 hours - the highest single-day toll of any country so far - with almost half in NYC, as cases rise to 310,000 and total deaths hit 8,500 leaving hospitals overwhelmed
- US death toll from coronavirus skyrocketed by 1,497 in one day, taking the death toll to 8,503 and counting
- Confirmed coronavirus cases reached 311,632, triple that of Spain and Italy
- New York City alone accounts for more than a quarter of the US deaths
- Virus took its grimmest daily death toll yet in New York state, with 788 dying in a day
- Michigan now has the third highest case count after New York and New Jersey
- Detroit has 223 deaths, the most in a US metro area other than New York City
The US set a grim global record on Saturday with the number of deaths from coronavirus leaping by 1,497 in just one day taking the death toll past 8,500.
Almost half of the day's fatalities were in New York City, where the death toll reached 2,624 and hospital corridors were littered with body bags containing the latest victims.
The US death toll skyrocketed to 8,503 by the end of Saturday, and the number of cases surged by 33,324 leaving 311,632 Americans infected by the killer virus.
This marks the highest number of infections anywhere in the world.
While the death toll in Italy (15,362) and Spain (11,947) is still higher, the US now dwarfs the hard-hit European nations' infections, with both Italy (124,632) and Spain (126,168) reporting only around a third of the number of infections across the US.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo warned that the pandemic is 'like a fire spreading', as his state continues to be ravaged and ruined by the crisis.
The gut-wrenching death toll comes as:
- US infections reached almost three times that of the next hardest-hit countries Spain and Italy
- 788 New Yorkers died from the virus in 24 hours as the city's fatalities make up a quarter of the US death toll
- New York City prepares to wake up to 'D-Day' Sunday, when the Big Apple will find out if its medical supplies are going to hold up as the outbreak reaches its peak
- Shocking images show body bags containing the latest victims of the killer virus spilling out into the corridors of the city's hospitals
- The NYPD is on its knees with 18,000 members testing positive and 10 dead
- NY Gov Cuomo said the pandemic was like a 'fire spreading' as more states emerge as new epicenters
- Louisiana has become a key concern with New Orleans patients dying at twice the rate per capita as in New York
- Michigan now has more cases that California with 12,744
- President Trump told Americans to prepare for the 'toughest week' next week
- The president also said the NFL would kick off soon and that he didn't want the country shut down for 'months and months'
The US' epicenter for the outbreak is yet to reach its 'apex' but its hospitals and morgues are near breaking point already.
New York state's death toll surged to 3,565 Saturday as another 788 New Yorkers died from the virus, marking the biggest one-day toll there yet.
The number of new cases in the state reached 10,675 and the total number of infections topped 113,833, higher than the number of infections in the whole of hard-hit Spain.
New York City alone made up 757 of the state's 788 new deaths, and more than half of the US's daily deaths from coronavirus. Bodies are seen lying in corridors inside the Wyckoff Hospital as the healthcare system is overwhelmed with fatalities
New York City hospitals continue to be overwhelmed with the mounting bodies, with shocking images emerging of body bags containing the latest victims of the killer virus spilling out into the corridors at Wyckoff Hospital in Brooklyn
New York City alone made up 757 of the state's 788 new deaths, and more than half of the US's daily deaths from coronavirus. The makeshift morgue outside Wyckoff hospital in Brooklyn contains the latest victims of the killer illness
he body of a dead coronavirus patient is seen being moved in an orange body bag from Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn to a refrigerator truck being used as temporary morgue
In total, the city's 2,624 fatalities account for more than a quarter of all coronavirus deaths across the 50 states.
The rate of new cases also showed no sign of slowing, with 6,147 recorded Saturday taking the number of infections to a staggering 63,306.
Long Island is seeing a spike in cases, with Cuomo warning that it 'is the area that is growing'.
More than 13,000 cases have been confirmed in Nassau County, as questions are being asked whether wealthy New Yorkers fleeing the city to retreat to holiday homes there could have triggered the spread.
New York City hospitals continue to be overwhelmed with the mounting bodies, with shocking images emerging of body bags containing the latest victims of the killer virus spilling out into the corridors at Wyckoff Hospital in Brooklyn.
As the number of dead rises, funeral homes have reported becoming 'overwhelmed' with the grim death tally and bodies are now lying for days in refrigerated trucks outside hospitals.
Crematories have extended their hours and burned bodies into the night, as city officials were looking elsewhere in the state for temporary interment sites.
Because of the risk of infection, many people with critically ill relatives in New York City are unable to see their loved ones in their final hours.
A resident at New York-Presbyterian hospital said he and his colleagues have made several death notification phone calls every shift this week.
'There's something sort of unquantifiably painful about telling a family their loved one died without letting them see them,' he said.
Funerals cannot be held due to social distancing guidelines meaning loved ones are left mourning them from afar.
Doctors at the Brooklyn Hospital Center told how they are buckling under the strain of the pandemic, with its ICU overflowing desperately trying to save people of all ages.
Dr. Joshua Rosenberg, a critical care doctor, told the New York Times its ICU had more than doubled in size in the last week, turning the chemotherapy infusion unit into a spillover unit in order to take on the growing number of people in a critical condition.
Concerns are mounting that there will soon be a shortage of life-saving ventilators.
The hospital temporarily ran out of protective plastic gowns, the main sedative for patients on ventilators and key blood pressure medication, reported the New York Times.
Shortages of gowns and PPE are such a concern, there is no chance of changing in between patients.
